


You've got it all worked out

by thatkidfrombrooklyn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Apple Juice, Bucky is hella gay, Domestic, Fake Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pretend Relationship, Sam is a great friend, Sharing a Bed, Steve is bi, bucky is in love with henry cavill, there's a dog
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-05-23 17:39:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14938869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatkidfrombrooklyn/pseuds/thatkidfrombrooklyn
Summary: Bucky accidentally came out to his mother and she wants him to bring his date home. His roommate and friend Steve helps out and spends two weeks with Bucky's family.





	1. We've waited too damn long

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Stucky fanfic hello  
> English is not my first language so there's probably some spelling errors and some faults in the grammar. Sorry about that!
> 
> I want to give a big thank you to Dviciosamadridista on tumblr for reading the first chapter and helping me out with it! You're a star!

“I just came out” The first words he said as he slammed the door behind him. Within seconds, a blond tuff of hair popped up behind said one’s bedroom door. “That’s good, right?” Steve looked worried for a second but it changed in a heartbeat “Oh my God, I’m so proud of you!” He pushed away from the doorframe and he was beaming as he walked to embrace the other man. Bucky had just come home from a ride to the store and stood frozen in the hall, shoulders slouched.  
  
“Well yeah, I suppose.” He looked at the man who was walking towards him, a wry smile on his lips. “Yeah. The thing is-“ Steve’s smile faltered a little. Bucky made a grimace and as he thought Steve understood what he was saying he continued. “The thing is, they think I’ll bring someone. They want to meet him” Steve eyed him, questioning.  
  
See, Bucky had a thing when he had too much to think about. He could have entire conversations in his head and just blurt out something incoherent and then realize he said it without context. He knew, when he saw people’s faces looking at him, they did not have a clue of what he meant. This was an instance just like that.  
  
“Oh shit, yeah, sorry.” Bucky made his way into the kitchen. Steve was still in the hallway but followed Bucky with his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “So, I was on the phone with mom and I just- Came out to her… Like, not the ‘mom I’m gay’-coming out? More like ‘honey, when are you going to meet a girl, huh? It’s time you met someone nice to bring home.’ and me going ‘well mom, maybe it’s not a girl…” Bucky was now sitting down staring straight forward with his head in his right hand. His eyes flicked to meet Steve’s, not moving from his position. “I just said that to try and get her to stop talking but she just kept going!”  
“What did she say?”  
  
When Steve had come out it had been like a walk in the park. His family had always been very supportive. He wasn’t sure if Bucky’s relatives were as easygoing. Not that he’d know, Bucky never talked about his family other than his beloved sister and his mother. Steve wouldn’t know how they’d react to Bucky being, well, not straight. Steve was ready to get his mean face on and talk to Ms Barnes, whatever it took to get things right.

“She thinks I have a date. She basically asked me if I could bring ‘him’ when I go home during summer vacation.” Bucky’s brows shot up as his forehead wrinkled in desperation. The sight almost made Steve snort out a laugh. “She’s so forward on finding me a date that she didn’t even realize what I’d said! It’s like she’s automatic or something. Her programming is just ‘change the pronouns’ and she’s good to go. What the hell am I going to do Steve? I don’t have a date!”  
Steve’s mind went through so many places at once. He blinked. Twice. Was that it?

“Is that it? You came in here almost balling your eyes out to tell me you don’t have a date to bring home and show your family?” He let out a huff of relief. Bucky pouted and crossed his arms over the table. “Yes. It’s a big deal, you pork. I’ve never brought a date to my family before! And I was _not_ almost balling my eyes out, you’re lying.” Even though Steve thought he’d seen the poutiest pout from Bucky, the man somehow managed to look even poutier. It was almost comical.  
  
“Does it have to be a real date, then?” As Steve said that he saw Bucky morph into an actual question mark. Steve’s friend had tilted his head to one side and was looking at him. “Wait. You mean like? A pretend date? A fake boyfriend?” His wrinkle between his brows deepened. “Yeah, why not?”, Steve shrugged. Bucky fell back against the chair.  
  
“It… I don’t know. Who would that be? I don’t really have friends here, bro.” “Well, we’ll find someone. We’ll fix you a date.” Steve smiled. “I’m still proud of you, you know. You came out even though it wasn’t planned. I’m sure they’ll love the dude you bring home.” Bucky exhaled deeply. “You better find me a great man, Rogers” Steve smirked as he slapped his friend’s arm gently. “Sure I will. I’m the best match maker ever.”

 

* * *

 

 

“What about Sam? He’s cool, right?” With his computer in his lap, Steve scrolled down through Bucky’s friends on Facebook. “Nooo he’s… Too much. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love Sam but… It’ll just be embarrassing how much he’ll talk about… You know…” Bucky sat on one of the armrests of the brown couch in their living room, the same couch Steve was sitting on. He didn’t want to finish that sentence and Steve seemed to catch up. “Ahh…” He pursed his lips in thought. “Lang? He’s funny.” “Nooo he’s like, like a dad! Steve, I can’t bring a dad-boyfriend to my family!” Blue eyes were wide as they stared at Steve. It made Steve look back down on his computer screen.

  
“Yeah, you’re right…” A pause followed by “T’challa then?” Bucky gave him a look. “Nope, okay, not T’challa. What is going on between you two by the way? You guys are so angry and I have no idea why!” The other man ignored that question as he stood up and put his arms over his head to stretch his back.  
  
“This isn’t going to work, Steve. I should call mom again and tell her.” Bucky groaned when he relaxed again. “No! I’m not letting you do that! You’ll have to go with Sam, then. He’s your friend, he’ll understand. Besides, what’s wrong with him talking about you two? I mean, it’s just going to add to the realness, right?” Bucky was quiet, thinking over the alternative.  
  
After what felt like forever he nodded silently. “Sam it is.” Steve slammed close the laptop and tried to get up from the couch. An old couch with cushions that were too soft were a challenge to get up from and Steve decided to sit back down, unable to get up. Bucky laughed and held out his right hand for Steve to pull himself up with.  
  
“Dude, we gotta get a new couch. I don’t want to feel like an old man anymore. It sucks.” Steve eyed the brown furniture. He had left a perfect butt mark in the middle. “Who says it’s the couch’s fault?” The corners of Bucky’s mouth turned upwards when he saw the changing expression on Steve’s face. He dodged a smack from Steve just in time and continued to cackle as he trotted into his bedroom.

 

* * *

 

“So we -onna pretend we’re da-ing, is -at what you’re saying?” Sam’s phone had always been bad at being a phone and Bucky had to concentrate if he actually wanted to hear what Sam was saying. He made a mental note to buy his friend a new phone for his upcoming birthday. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Should I explain it again or…?” Bucky walked across the patterned carpet in the living room. His eyes followed the gray and red stripes on the off-white background as he waited for Sam to respond. “-o, no I get the gist of it. Look man, I’ll do it for you. But you gotta buy me a beer sometime. Or five. And I’m not gonna smooch you. ”  
  
The laugh Bucky let out made the man on the other side chuckle with him and with that they said their goodbye’s. They planned on going through everything with a little more detail next time they talked. Maybe this could work out anyway. Bucky was nervous but at least he’s going somewhere. He didn't have to come home empty handed for once.

 

* * *

 

Eyes wandered the content of the refrigerator and Steve sighed. An almost empty jug of milk, two eggs, butter and some sad tomatoes rested on the glass shelves. He closed the fridge door and sighed again. “Buck? You wanna come with to the store?” Steve leaned against the doorframe with his whole body weight against his arms, like a vertical pushup. Bucky popped his head out from the bathroom, hair still wet from the shower and with a toothbrush in the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, shure. I’o thbe whight ouh.” Steve nodded to himself. “Cool, I’ll be in the car. You don’t have to bring bags, I’ll grab ‘em.” He opened the cupboard where they stored reusable paper and plastic bags and chose three plastic ones.

  
As he heard Bucky wash his hands in the bathroom he opened the door and stepped outside. It was still early, about eight forty-five in the morning. Steve never was an evening person, he liked early mornings and often dragged Bucky with him. Bucky had nothing against it but he could sleep in a lot longer if he wanted to.  
  
Despite the time, the sun already heated up the troposphere around them making it a bit heavy to breathe. The wind helped a little but it was mostly whiffing hot air into Steve’s face. He frowned at the sensation and looked up at the sky, covering the sun with his hand. It was a clear morning except some dark clouds a few miles away. Just as he had figured. He knew exactly how it felt just before rain. This is a rain day.

-

They sat in comfortable silence during the ride to the store. Car rides were kind of therapeutic for both of them. They only exchanged words when it was necessary. “Are those rain clouds?” Bucky looked out of the right car window, his mouth slightly open. “Yeah, I saw them too. Mother nature needs to drink sometime. Otherwise she’ll die.” “Maybe she’s crying.” Bucky looked at Steve. “I think she’s crying for everything in the world.” He’d always been the dramatic poet-thinker-philosopher-human. Steve liked that.  
  
Bucky looked out through the window again and that was it. No other words were shared and they both felt content with that.

-

Two gallons of milk, a couple of apples, a bag of almonds and two green onions later and Bucky finds a glue stick with purple glue that turns clear when it dries. He puts that in the basket. The two men look at each other but Steve eventually breaks eye contact with an eye roll and continues to shop as if nothing happened.  
  
Four tomatoes, a packet of rice, some parsley and a ten pack of toilet paper later and Bucky finds a trash grabber. When Steve shakes his head Bucky pinches him with it and gets a few complaints from the other man such as “ _You’re embarrassing yourself, stop it_ ” and “ _it’s too early for this shit_ ”. Bucky gets him back by calling him out. “I thought you were a morning person, Steve”. Steve eventually gives up and lets Bucky put “the goddamn trash grabber” in the basket.  
  
Three kiwifruits, a bar of soap, two tubes of toothpaste, a pair of star shaped glasses, a green plastic folder, a book about indoor plants and a squeeze on a pair of leather pants from Bucky later and they’re all done with their groceries.  
  
Steve is in charge of packing it all neatly into their bags and he notices some articles he definitely did _not_ put in there. Bucky is fast through the doors but even then Steve catches him snickering and laughing. They don’t say anything to each other for the whole ride home. They’re happy.

-

The rain had been falling down for a while when they came back from the trip. They had to run from the car to the house and wait for Bucky to fish out the key and unlock the door before they could change clothes and get dry.  
  
“Mother nature probably helps herself a lot. She knows she needs water so she’ll cry for everyone. It’s nice.” Bucky sat on the brown couch with his legs pulled up and head in his left hand as he watched the rain.  
  
“Maybe she cries because it’s dry outside. When she realizes that everything is okay she stops. I think that’s when she’s the happiest.” The words from Steve continuing on what Bucky had said made him smile. “Yeah.”  
  
Steve smiled back, handing the other man a towel for his damp hair. “Hey, mother nature thought you needed another shower” Bucky shook his head but he let out an amused chuckle. “Guess I forgot to wash my ears”  
  
They sat together and watched the rain pour down outside their window.

-

Neither of the two friends are great cooks. They know the easiest stuff but as soon as they try to cook anything fancy it somehow always ends up mediocre, no matter how hard they try. Bucky always blames it on Steve’s ‘awful habit of putting a little too much butter in the pan’ but Steve knows it clearly has to do with Bucky not watching the food as it cooks. If someone tried to boss the other around it would usually end up in a pinch fight. Those red marks on the skin wouldn’t go away for a while. Or Steve gets them. Bucky has some sort of super sharp hard nails and he uses them to his advantage.  
  
“Ow!” Steve shook his hand in the air, thinking the pain would go away faster if he did. “Yeah, that’s what you get when you try ‘n add butter _again_. We don’t need more butter, dude.” “Bucky, the meat is stuck in the pan, we need a lubricant!” A howl of laughter broke out in their tiny kitchen. Amused, Steve watched Bucky almost break down crying as he tried to catch his breath.  
  
“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that funny.” Steve waved his hands as he spoke. “You don’t get to say that too often, huh?” Bucky dragged his fingers under his eyes as if he had tears on his cheeks. “Say what?” The blond man chuckled. “The lube thing” Steve’s amusement immediately faltered. As the silence fell the men looked at each other, Bucky with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Bucky!” The expression made Bucky bark out yet another laugh and he got two well-deserved fingers shoved into his ribs.

-

After dinner they helped out to wash up. Steve couldn’t stand a messy kitchen and Bucky was on his side, just not as caring. He gladly help out though and was wiping the kitchen counter when Steve placed a glass with, what it looked like, some sort of pudding. A confused look from Bucky and Steve took it to himself to explain.  
  
“I’m happy and I felt like making something. It’s a recipe my mother gave me. It’s the best goddamn chocolate pudding in the world.”

It was the best goddamn pudding Bucky had ever tasted. “How come you never cook like this when you’re making, I don’t know, lunch?!” Steve smiled. “Because you are in the kitchen when I make lunch.”  
  
Bucky had no interest to help out more in the kitchen that evening.

-

It was actually meant to be Bucky, Steve and their friend Natasha but when Nat cancelled on the last minute the two friends figured they could have a picnic without her, just the two of them. Steve had been a little bummed to Nat’s decision but he gave in to the idea when Bucky told him he’d clean the toilet if Steve picnic'd with him.  
  
They spent the day watching clouds. Sometimes they saw completely different things. A big sea bass in Bucky’s eyes could be a rabbit jumping over a fence through Steve’s. Other times they saw the exact same thing. They kept going like that, finding new clouds to point out before they fell silent and just listened to the sounds around the park. Cars going by, dogs barking. Steve’s tummy rumbling. That spurred them into two giggling messes until they were not.  
Bucky would sometimes close his eyes and just feel. Steve would do the same. They felt alive, they were happy.  
  
“I’m actually kind of glad Nat didn’t come today.” Bucky turned his head to look at Steve. “Yeah?” “Yeah. We can just take our time without having to rush or anything. It’s nice.” “Indeed it is.”

-

“Could you… help me?” Pause. “Bucky!” He didn’t even bother to look up from his book when Steve called out to him. “Help you with what?” “I have about six dozen unmatched socks laying on my bed. I need your help.” Bucky looked up. A distressed and a little flushed Steve was standing in the door. “Why do you only have black socks, Buck?”

-

“No wait, hold on! No! This goes with this one! Bucky!” “Shut up, Steve! I don’t even have to look at that sock to know it’s mine!” Steve’s bed was full of different socks, mostly black. Two piles of them; one with matched ones and one with unmatched and alone ones. “I KNOW IT’S MINE! If you turn that one right side out there’s a white spot underneath the toe.” Bucky pointed with his whole hand to the sock Steve was holding in his hand. Steve turned the sock inside out and there it was. A white splatter of some sort was displayed in front of them. “Fine.” A triumphant smile slowly crept up on Bucky’s lips and he had to swat away the sock that was flying straight towards his face.

The movie they planned on watching played in the background as they sat together the entire night just fighting and helping each other with socks. That was the life they were living. They were happy.

 

* * *

 

It was the day before family day and Bucky was nervous. In fact, he had never been this nervous before. It was cool though, totally chill, he thought. His mom was excited, she’d been excited. He just didn’t know how to act around Sam when they’d get there. Figured that was something they would discuss later or something. With his phone in his hands he quickly typed a message.

 **[** _Bucky_ & Sam & Normal **]**

 **8:50pm**  
_Yo when am I picking you up tomorrow? I’m ready to go whenever you are!_

 **9:01pm**  
oh shit i forgot to tell you  
i cant come with you man 

Bucky’s brow furrowed. What?

 **9:02pm  
** im sorry something came up and i gotta be there for them im sorry bucky

Well shit.

 **9:07pm**  
_Ah crap_  
Well you go and take care of the thing, sounds kinda important  
It’s all cool, man. Don’t worry! Next time ;)

 **9:09pm  
** you gonna be ok though? do you have another friend you can bring? im kinda ruining your cover here bro

 **9:11pm  
** _It’s cool, it’s cool! I’ll just tell them you got sick or something, it’ll be okay!_

 **9:14pm**  
yeah do that  
again im sorry i didnt tell you earlier  
i was kinda caught up  
sorry

 **9:16pm  
** _Sam, it’s fine! I understand! Thank you for actually doing this for me in the first place, that’s pretty awesome actually_

 **9:17pm  
** i know ;) comes naturally

 **9:18pm  
** _Take care, alright? Stay safe and all that shit_

 **9:19  
** thanks man

Bucky exhaled a deep breath through his nose. Fuck.

-

“Sam can’t make it tomorrow.” Bucky watched as Steve gurgled water, almost swallowing it by mistake, and spitting it out. “Wait, what?” The blond man looked at Bucky in the mirror while he dried his mouth with his towel. “Buck, he was your date! Have you talked to anyone else? Like backup?” Bucky shrugged. “No.”

Before turning around, Steve gave him a troubled look in the mirror. With his arms crossed over his chest he looked the man standing outside the bathroom with a stern face.    
“What are you going to do? You’re leaving tomorrow, right? It’s a lil’ late to call someone.”  
  
“I know. I was planning on telling mom ‘my boyfriend got sick, he couldn’t come’ or something like that. It’s an easier lie than to actually bring someone.” “Mmmmm yes, imagine how much she will keep talking about it. I’ve heard how much fun you think that is.” Out of all the eye rolls Bucky makes on a daily basis, the one he did when Steve said that had to be a record. Steve smiled and pushed himself through the small space between Bucky and where the wall meets the door and continued into his bedroom. His friend made an annoyed sound but followed him to keep up the conversation. He was panicking a little bit. Just a little.  
  
“Well I don’t think it’s a great idea to arrive to an excited little family and then don’t bring anyone.” How Steve managed to shrug his shoulders as he took off his shirt and switch into another one was a mystery, it was all done in one flowing motion.  
  
“What are you suggesting, Steven?” Although, it wasn’t a question. It was more of an impatient statement to get Steve to speak up. “I can come with.” They both got quiet real fast. Especially Bucky. What. “What?” The look on Steve’s face was serious and clear. He wasn’t joking. “Wait, no, Steve, you can’t come with! We’ve been living with each other for almost five years! Hell, we’ve been friends for almost ten! She’ll pick up on that lie before you even step out of the car!” Steve smiled brightly. “That’s exactly why I should meet her! Like, it’s the perfect plan if you think about it. We’ve been friends and moved in together and then we realized we may be more than friends and voilà! Perfect crime!”  
  
Bucky squinted, wanted to point out something about the ‘perfect crime’ thing but decided not to. “That wouldn’t work. She knows we’re just friends.” He shook his head.  
  
“What other option do you have? You can’t call anyone at this hour and you don’t want to come home empty handed. I think this is a good plan if I could say so myself.” The brown haired man had so many questions. How would he even introduce Steve? ‘Hi mom this is Steve yes you know him yes we’re in love’. She had seen him with Steve for years and knew exactly how they were to each other. Would they have to put on an act and be all cuddly with each other to fool her? Or would they just act the same as they always did and blame it on that they were in love before they knew about it themselves?  
  
“Okay. How would this work, then? Do we act or what? Because she won’t believe us if we’re just you and me. You know, normal.” Normal? Where does this come from, Barnes?  
“Well I guess we’ll have to do something couple-y? What do couples do? Domestic stuff. Or something.” Bucky stared at Steve. “Steve! We’re already domestic!” Steve bit his bottom lip, brow furrowed.  
  
“True but…” His eyes snapped up as he heard an annoyed groan from the other man. “This isn’t going to work!” Another sigh of doubt escaped Bucky. In a matter of seconds Steve stood up from his bed and walked towards him. “Yes, it is going to work. Please let me help you, okay? I think I’ve got the majority of this plan in my head. We’re going to make this work, Buck. Do you trust me?” Blue met blue. “Of course.” There wasn’t a grain of uncertainty when Bucky had said it. He trusted Steve with his life.  
  
“Good. We’ll talk this through in the car, yeah? How long is it? Like, a six hour drive?” “Six, yeah-“ “That’s plenty of time. I suggest we both go to bed now and we’ll talk tomorrow. Sounds good?” Bucky stared at the floor. He forced himself to look Steve in the eyes when he spoke again. “Hey. Sounds good?” Bucky nodded. “Good. Wake me up if there’s something.” A heavy and warm hand found itself onto Bucky’ shoulder making him sigh. “I will. Goodnight, Steve.” With a final pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile, Steve took a step backwards. “See you tomorrow, friend. Goodnight.”

-

It took some time before Bucky fell asleep. If his thoughts were like a bad remix of three songs during the day, his thoughts were four twelve-song-albums playing all at once at night. But he trusted Steve, he knew Steve would try and fix it as good as he could. And Bucky would try his best and to follow his friend’s lead. He just hoped his mother would buy it. Oh boy, it was going to be two long weeks.

 

* * *

 


	2. With so little time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve meets the family. And a dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I'm back!!!  
> I wanna thank dviciosamadridista on tumblr again for reading through everything thankyouthankyouthankyou
> 
> and thank you for everyone who wrote something nice about the first chapter+left kudos, it means a lot!!! <3

Bucky went through his suitcase again. Everything seemed to be in place, he’d remembered to pack everything. Hopefully.  
  
He looked at the digital clock on his phone and sighed. Thirty minutes until they were supposed to leave. Bucky had tried to ask Steve about the plan but the other man had kept his mouth shut, telling him to ‘wait until we get in the car. It’ll be easier for both of us if we’re sitting still, trust me’. There was truth in what Steve said but Bucky didn’t want to wait. He wanted to know.  
  
He was scared. Scared of what Steve had in mind. Scared of what his family would think. Scared of what Steve would do. What are Steve and Bucky going to do? Together? Bucky. Was. Scared.

-

They left almost fifteen minutes earlier. Steve and Bucky walked out from their rooms at the same time, both in deep thought. Bucky locked the front door as Steve packed their bags into the backseat of the car. Like clockwork Steve sat down in the driver’s seat, Bucky sat down beside him. They looked at each other and nodded.  
  
Bucky was taken back by the look in Steve’s eyes. He’d only seen Steve this concentrated twice before.

Once seven years ago when Bucky came home from school and saw Steve holding two cards in his hands and a card house, three stories high, in front of him. Bucky had managed to ruin all the work Steve had put into it for the last half hour with just an accidental breath in the wrong direction.

Steve didn’t talk to him for two hours.

The second time was three years ago. Steve had just discovered the art of sewing and had been sitting on a chair in the dining room to get thread through a needle. Bucky walked in just when Steve got, the way he described it, the string from the demons of hell through the eye of the needle. When Bucky had looked at his friend, Steve proceeded to pull the string back out again.

Steve decided to hide the remote control to the TV for an entire week after that.

Bucky told himself not to fuck it up this time too. He and Steve had to concentrate and work together. Build the house of cards with patience and delicate planning. Perhaps Steve wouldn’t talk to him ever again otherwise, Bucky figured.

He inhaled deeply; glad he wasn’t alone about feeling stressed and nervous. Steve turned the ignition key and started the car.

Six hours of planning, go.

-

“I’ve waited all morning. Can you please tell me now?” Blue eyes looked at the blond man who kept his eyes on the road. “Yes. I’ve been thinking all night.” Pause. “Well, almost.” Bucky stayed silent. Steve glanced to his right to look at Bucky but was quick to look back on the highway again.

“We’ll use the same story I told you. We met just as we met when we were younger. We don’t have to lie about that, so that’s good. We’ll say it was more than a friendship from the beginning, if they’re wondering why we got together. We just… Didn’t know then,” Steve shrugged.  
  
“So that’s like the backstory. I didn’t have time to think about anything else.” Bucky squinted. “Wait, you just said you thought about this all night!” “Well, I fell asleep, okay?” Bucky shook his head. He couldn’t blame the man, though. He knew Steve was one of those people who, as soon as they laid their head on a pillow, they would fall asleep. He was a very sleepy man.

“Guess we’ll have to come up with stuff together, then.” Bucky raised his hands and let them fall back in his lap. “How are we going to act? That’s like the most important question.”  
  
“Yeah, well, I guess we should be more intimate than we are now. I wouldn’t believe us if I were someone else. If we just acted as we usually do, we wouldn’t radiate _in love_ , to be honest.” Steve pressed his lips together.

“That is very true; I’m with you on that one.” Bucky nodded his head frantically. The two men hugged sometimes but other than that, almost nothing intimate occurred between them. They were two bros being dude-friends.

Cool, so more intimacy.  
  
“What about kissing?” Bucky practically blurted the words out. He needed to know. Steve drove silently for a while. “Steve?” “Yeah, kissing, uh…” The man on the right leaned back in his seat, waiting for an answer.  
  
“Yes. Kissing is a good idea.” Steve stared at the road in front of him. Was it just Bucky or was Steve’s knuckles whiter? They looked as if they were gripping the wheel a little more. Huh.

“Alright. Kissing it is.” Shit. “Should we… Practice or something? Or should we just go for it?” A muscle twitched under Steve’s right eye as he answered. “No, we should just go for it. Yeah, we should just go for it.” “Cool, alright.” “Yep.”    
  
The men got very quiet. One minute passed. One turned into two, two turned into four.

“How you feeling?” Bucky finally broke the silence. If it was something Bucky couldn’t stand, it was awkward silence. It made him feel weird.  
“Good. I mean, I’m nervous. But we’ll figure this out” Steve nodded once and looked over at Bucky. They exchanged looks and smiled softly.

“How are you holding up though, Buck?” Steve broke the eye contact again. Eyes on the road, dude. “I’m totally cool.” The driver snapped his head to the right. “What?” Steve cocked an eyebrow.

Bucky shook his head and grinned. “Absolutely not. I’m scared shitless, bro,” he continued.  
  
Steve laughed at that. “I’m completely on your side, this is terrifying.” He didn’t know why it was terrifying. He figured it was good terrified, though.

Looking forward, with the smile still on his face, Bucky patted the other man on the shoulder.

“Yo, we should totally come up with some crazy stories! If Becca asks, I mean.” Bucky lit up. Steve hummed in question.

“You know, something along the lines of ‘we were at the cinema one time and made out so hard people began switching seats just to get away from us’ or ‘Hey Steve, you remember that one time we got interrupted by that old lady? She was so angry, kept screaming how we were ‘too loud’.”  
  
“That… doesn’t sound too bad actually” They’d stopped to wait for the bypassing cars on the road in front of them. Steve checked for more cars, leaning forward against the steering wheel. When the coast was clear, he turned right and smirked. “I’m sure I can come up with more of those.”  
  
Not paying attention to what his friend just said, Bucky quickly added “And we need to hold hands. Like a lot. It isn’t a Barnes relationship without hand holding.”

“Sure thing, boo bear.” Bucky choked. Steve laughed. “You’ll have to get used to that, darling.” Steve fluttered his eyelashes and smiled. That made Bucky laugh even more. Smiling, Steve looked at Bucky, looked at the road again.

A happy Buck made Steve happy and the lighthearted jokes seemed to relax both of them. The car ride turned out to be very joyful and easy.

It didn’t feel like six hours for either of them.

 

* * *

 

“Bucky!” Winifred ran up to the car Steve had just parked on the driveway. Bucky lit up. He closed the door and embraced his mother tightly.

“I’ve missed you so much.” “I’ve missed you too, mom. Missed your cooked meals… Steve can’t cook for shit.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Steve warned Bucky but didn’t look up to glare at him because he was currently getting his hands all up in the family dog’s fur.

“Oh, you’re so handsome, yes you are!” He scratched the dog’s ears with his fingers, holding its head in his palms. Steve had no idea Bucky’s mom had a dog. He looked at Bucky as if he tried to communicate through telepathy. Seemed to work because Bucky nodded to Steve and proceeded to call the dog to him.

“Paul, come here, girl!” Bucky patted his side with his hand, making the dog trot towards him with her tail wagging. Steve shot him a confused look. His eyebrows knotted together and his mouth curled into a small, amused smile. Bucky knew exactly what that expression meant. ‘I’ve got questions bro and you are going to answer every single one of them.’

“She is a beautiful dog, indeed. What breed is she?” Steve still managed to play along to the ‘Yes absolutely, I knew you had a dog. A hundred percent. I knew that’-thing.

“Australian shepherd. Needs plenty of room to run around so it was the perfect place to keep her here.” Bucky smiled down at the dog. She looked up at him, giving him a warm puppy smile back.

Normally, light eyes on dogs spooked Steve a little. Reminded him too much of wolves. Somehow, uh, Paul, was the exception. Maybe because it was Bucky’s dog. Probably.

-

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a fricking dog?! A dog, Buck!” Bucky snorted a laugh. “Guess it never came up.”

“And Paul? Really?” He hissed quietly into Bucky’s ear. The other man jerked his head back to get a better look at Steve.

“Mom is really into Paul Rudd, alright?” He turned around and held the front door open for Steve. But “Paul” is a she, Steve thought.

“But she’s a she! Isn’t that weird, to call her Paul?” Steve kept up with Bucky, walking by his side. Bucky shrugged.

“It’s just a name, Steve. Names don’t really have gender, I don’t think.” To that, Steve couldn’t argue. Bucky was right, of course he was. Besides, a dog wouldn’t care at all. Paul is a cute name for a dog. Hilarious, but cute.

-

It was a big place. Off-white wooden walls stood tall and made the black (or… dark grey?) door to stand out notably.

By the looks of it, Steve figured it wasn’t two stories. Even though the house was big, it wasn’t large enough. But it was breathtaking, truly. The inside was pretty much as eye catching as the outside. At least of what Steve saw from where he stood in the tiny hall. What a small hall.

The three of them heard a noise from one of the rooms. Winifred turned towards the two men and smiled brightly at them. “Are you ready?” Steve didn’t quite understand and stood there dumbfounded. Bucky did, though. He chuckled and nodded.

-

Becca raced through the kitchen into the living room, through the open door and into the hallway. She then proceeded to launch herself into Bucky’s arms and wrap herself around him with a tight hug.

“Hi brother! I’ve missed you so much, oh my God” Bucky smiled at her.

“I’ve missed you too, Beccs.”

Steve stood awkwardly behind him, still holding his suitcase. He looked around, eyes flickering all over the place. Why bother to make a big house if you’re just going to build the smallest goddamn hall in the world. It’s just enough space to hold three people. Why are they still standing here?

Becca caught his eye and Steve froze to then relax a bit. She raised her eyebrow, reminding Steve of another member of the Barnes family. With the bright eyes and dark hair, she looked even more like her brother.

“Hiya, Steve.” She said, still eyeing him suspiciously.

Steve did the best he could. “Hi Becca. It’s nice to see you again. When was it last time? Three years ago?”

“Yeah, I think so. It’s great to see you too, healthy and… Well…”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Oh my God, what?”

“Nothing,” Becca replied quickly. Her expression changed a little, a tiny smile playing on her lips. “Just good to see you getting along. Like, more than ever.” She was smiling full on now.

Bucky rolled his eyes again but couldn’t help but smile. It was great to be home.

-

After a quick tour of the house and Bucky forcefully grabbing Steve’s hand to hold (and getting a few weird looks from Becca), Steve was all set. He had enjoyed the whole aesthetics of the villa. Everything seemed very well planned. The rooms were all quite dark with chestnut furniture to bind everything together. Two bathrooms, one by the guest room and one right where the hall ends. The kitchen was small but that too was organized and well kept.

Steve was seriously impressed and chuckled to himself because this is not something Bucky had picked up on. Bucky did not really care if the house was messy (it drove Steve insane sometimes) whereas both Winifred and Becca seemed a little more used to cleaning up after themselves.

It was a lovely house and Steve couldn’t be more pleased with his stay.

 

* * *

 

“Bucky, come help me in the kitchen.” Winifred stood in the doorway with a spatula in her right hand, her other one under it to catch if something would drip. Bucky excused himself from Steve and followed his mother into the kitchen.

“What are you making?” Bucky watched curiously as Winifred wiped the counter. She turned herself towards him and crossed her arms over her chest. Her son didn’t notice, he was more interested in the custard on the stove. “Strawberry custard tarts.”

Bucky made a delighted noise when he saw the content in the saucepan. He went to grab a teaspoon and locked gazes with his mom. Stern eyes met his. Bucky’s stomach dropped. This wasn’t good. At all.

“What…?” Bucky shrugged but braced himself. Shit.  
  
“You’re not dating Steve.” He froze instantly. Crap. Uh. “Uh.” Winifred raised an eyebrow. “Surprise.” Bucky winced internally. Did he really just… If Steve had been there, he would’ve probably swatted Bucky on the back of his head. Luckily for him, his mom was there to do the same thing.

“I told you to bring your date, James! Not your roommate!” Winifred Barnes was the sweetest mother in the world, ask anyone and they would agree. But she was the most terrifying mother too. She knew what she wanted, and she was not afraid to show it. Bucky desperately tried to get his brain to function again and blinked rapidly.

“Steve is my date, mom!” he choked out. Winifred glared still, although something behind the gaze was softer. Not anyone who’d experienced her type of expressions would be able to decipher the shift in her eyes. Bucky _grew up with her_ and even he barely noticed.

“Uh-huh.” The mother stood completely still and Bucky’s eyes flickered back and forth, meeting her eyes and immediately trying to find something else to look at. Winifred continued, voice low and steady. “How come you haven’t talked about it? If it’s true, why didn’t you tell us?”

Bucky sighed. “ _Well mom, it’s kinda complicated, you see. First of all, we’re not dating for real. I don’t have a real date. Funny thing is, I was supposed to bring Sam first but he had to cancel so Steve jumped in last second. With that said, not only do I not have a real date, the fake date I was supposed to bring couldn’t be here so I brought my_ fake _-fake date instead. You get me?_ ” Bucky wished he could tell her the truth. He just didn’t want to let her down _again._ So he didn’t tell her. He sighed again and closed his eyes.

“First of all, I’m gay, mom. That’s scary to say, alright. Secondly, not even me and Steve knew how we felt for each other. This is new for us.” Bucky’s mother watched him when he opened his eyes again. She had relaxed significally and didn’t have any signs of disbelief on her face anymore.

Bucky took a deep breath, letting his shoulders relax. Faking was hard work and he’d been tense ever since he got to the house. He looked down at the ground.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, mom.” Winifred cupped her hands around his face, shaking her head. “No sweetie, it’s okay. You don’t ever have to apologize for that. I reacted badly, I’m sorry.” Bucky closed his eyes when his mother stroked his cheeks. She always had the softest touch, not even Steve could compete with her. Then of course, she was his mother.

“I love you, Bucky. And I’m proud of you. I always will be proud of you.” She smiled and nodded. Bucky felt himself mimic her and they stood like that, completely still, for a couple of minutes. It felt nice to be comforted again. He felt like a five-year old child but it was okay. It was safety after all.

 

* * *

 

Steve helped Becca set the table before dinner was ready. He knew how clumsy he could be with all the utensils and dinner plates. He couldn’t count on his fingers how many times he’d broke something in the kitchen. He had probably smashed at least three plates just this month. Setting the table may seem like a simple task to anyone except Steve. However, he did his best as always.

“So you and Bucky, huh?” Becca grinned. “I have to say, we didn’t see that coming.” Steve paused with a fork in his hand.

“Really?” He sat it down on the table beside one of the light gray plates. Becca rolled her eyes and looked at him. “No, Steve, we all kinda knew. I mean, it was kinda obvious if you ask me.”

“Really?” He couldn’t do anything else than repeat himself. Did people think Steve and Bucky were dating before all this?

“Yeah, man. The way Bucky talked about you when he called home? It isn’t that hard to piece it all together.” Becca laughed a little. Then she shrugged and continued. “I’m just happy you’re happy now. It was awful looking at you two pining for each other. I’m happy for you, like, a lot happy.”

Steve blushed. What did Bucky say about him when he didn’t hear? And pining for each other? If someone would ask that directly to Steve, he would look at them as if they were the most delusional person in the world and just completely deny it. As Steve understood it, the “pining” they were doing was just the way they were looking at each other. Like two normal friends. Being friends.

“Was it that obvious, huh?” Steve felt sweaty and a little flustered still. They’d finished setting the table and sat on two of the chairs around it.

“I mean yeah, pretty much. You know how not-yet canon couples look at each other in movies? That’s you and Bucky. A hundred percent.”

Steve ducked his head and tried to contain a small smile. He knows exactly what “the look” looks like. Damn, why hadn’t he noticed this before?

“Yeah, well, I like him very much. You should be proud to call him your brother.” Becca smiled fondly. “I am. He’s the best brother in the entire world.”

“And the best boyfriend,” Steve added. It felt weird to talk about Bucky like this. To call him his boyfriend, to talk about how they look and act with each other. But it was good weird. For some unknown reason, Steve got an excited and sparkly feeling in his tummy whenever Becca mentioned how Bucky ‘talks about you all the time’.

But even though this was all positive, Steve was nervous. Steve knew more now than he did before the trip. Shit, how is he going to act normal when he knows Bucky talks about him like that? Knowing that other people picked up the glances they shared, with Bucky and Steve unaware of what signals they were sending out.

Totally cool, Rogers. Totally. Cool.

 

* * *

 

The food was incredible. Winifred always cooked the best meals and the men ate as if they’d never seen food before. Both Bucky and Steve agreed that Winifred’s food was the absolute best. Steve didn’t even bother asking if she used extra butter in the pan, it was obvious she did. It was too good not be true.

Both Becca and Winifred was curious about Bucky’s and Steve’s decisions and relationship. The two friends answered the questions as well as they could, trying to memorize everything they talked about in the car.

-

“It was a great call, I loved that sofa. We picked it out together.” Bucky lied and he knew it. Steve was the one who picked out that god-awful couch. Bucky wasn’t even in the same city as Steve when it happened. Anything for love, right?

-

“Exactly, that was the funniest thing about it! Steve hated the idea but it only made it better. He was perfect as Anger, everyone loved him.” That Halloween party was a flop. Steve didn’t dress up as Anger at all. He was some sort of superhero, or something. He walked around throwing crinkled up red paper at people and called himself “The human torch”. What a weirdo.

Bucky wasn’t dressed up as Joy either. That same year he decided to be a Jedi master. A big piece of fabric to tie around his neck as a cape, and a spray-painted broomstick worked terrifically as a light saber.

Becca and Winifred sat and nodded enthusiastically while they listened. They believed every word of what Steve and Bucky said. It made Bucky’s stomach feel a little weird. The plan to get his family to believe the biggest lie he had ever told worked, that’s for sure but it had its effects on him. He dreaded the moment when he had to explain everything to them.

Or maybe he didn’t have to.

Just keep it a secret forever.

 _Don’t let them in, don’t let them see… What a great adventure, Bucky._ _You’re basically Elsa._ He sighed. Jesus Christ.

-

“Bucky always has this thing in bed where he-“ Bucky’s eyes widened. “Woah, woah, woah, now-“ He covered his left hand over Steve’s mouth. Steve _smirked_ , that fucker. “Steve, not in front of my sister! Or my mother, for that matter! That’s between you and me!” The other man put his hands up in defense.

“Sorry” Steve whispered, giving him an apologetic grin. Bucky rolled his eyes mentally. Good god.

Winifred pressed her lips together, stifling a laughter bubbling up. Becca looked scared with her hands pressed against her ears. Steve was still grinning and Bucky shook his head, looking at his lap. Although he too couldn’t contain himself as a chuckle escaped his lips. What a beautiful mess they’d made.

-

The strawberry custard tarts was probably the best thing Bucky had ever eaten. Steve agreed wholeheartedly.

 

* * *

 

While Winifred and Becca went out for a walk with Paul, Steve and Bucky got the whole house for themselves. Becca probably had her suspicion about what they would do in there. Bet she didn’t expect them to sit down at the table and talk about the first day because that was exactly what they were going to do.

“So, this isn’t going that bad, is it?” Bucky was optimistic for once. He actually didn’t think this could’ve gone any better. Steve did his job as the embarrassing boyfriend and Bucky played along and did the same. Perfect teamwork. He would give Steve a high five but he figured that was a bit much.

Just a little bit.

“It is going _extremely_ well if you ask me” Steve raised his eyebrows and nodded once. Bucky hummed in agreement. “Yes, I think so too. We’re truly the best couple” Bucky batted his eyelashes that made Steve snort. Then something lit up on his face.

“Becca totally thinks we’re making out right now, though, isn’t she?” Steve looked amused. He pursed his lips and observed Bucky with playful eyes.

“Yep. Typical teenager.” Bucky shook his head. He looked at Steve again and furrowed his brow. “What are you thinking?” he asked, catching the look on Steve’s face.

“We should totally make it look like we’ve been doing it.” The blond man almost bounced up and down at the incredible, fantastic, awesome, magnificent idea he’d just come up with. Bucky eyed him blankly.

“Are you kidding.” His tone was monotone and deep, not even a slight indication he meant it as a question.

“Nope! I mean, we’re meant to be dating. People who date each other make out, so, we should do it.” Bucky stared at Steve, mouth slightly open. “Uh, I mean, not _do it_ do it but pretend we did it. Here, let me…” Steve leaned forward and ran his fingers through Bucky’s hair. Bucky was confused still but seemed to catch up on what Steve was implying. His eyes went wide and his mouth formed into an “oh” shape.

He moved his hands towards Steve’s hair and combed his fingers through the coarse strands, making sure to get the back of his head and really get the making-out-and-tugging-your-hair sort of thing.

Bucky locked eyes with Steve. That was the last straw for the blond man. He burst into a big, breathy laugh, making Bucky press his lips tight against each other. He eventually couldn’t keep it together and cracked up. It was one of the most absurd things Bucky had ever done and he loved it.

Their laughter died down and they both looked quite proud of what they’d done to each other. Both of them looked real sex hair-y but something was missing. Bucky realized it when he saw Steve suck in his bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling a little.

“Yeah, keep doing that.” Bucky’s eyes locked onto Steve’s lips. The other man was taken back from Bucky’s blatant stare and his very blatant wording. It was then Bucky actually realized what he just said. He felt his face turning red, let out a variety of stammered “uhm’s”, “uh’s” and “hhhhh” and ended it all with a single, embarrassed “heh”. Steve watched him, his mouth twitching with amusement. Bucky shook his head, waving his hands in front of himself.

“No, I mean, red and swollen. You know, lips get all red and swollen when you kiss someone. Keep biting your lips” Bucky kept his eyes on the ground, avoiding all contact with Steve’s, still red in the face.  

“Okay” The amused tone of Steve’s voice made Bucky look up. He was met with Steve biting his lips comically, switching from bottom lip to upper lip and back again. At one point, he looked like one of those cartoon bulldogs. Bucky would not have been surprised if Steve had let out a bark or something.

When he was finished with his show, the blond man laughed, eyes squeezed shut. Bucky blew out a huff of air, the kind that makes your cheeks puff out. Steve was really one of the best people on earth. He made awfully awkward situations less painful. He’d always been like that: a goddamn hero.

If Bucky ever did something embarrassing in front of the class, Steve always had something fun to shout or he would trip even bigger than his best friend, just to assert the eyes of their classmates to Steve. Bucky had never thanked him for that. He should do that.

He realized he’d zoned out and shook his head to come back down to Earth. He blinked a couple of times and looked at Steve, more specifically his lips. His brows drew together, looking impressed because yeah, that looked convincing enough.

“Yeah, that will work. Perfect.” Bucky grinned, brought his left hand up and patted Steve on his cheek. Steve chuckled and ducked his head. That only made Bucky grin wider. He wasn’t the only one flustered anymore. Victory.

 

* * *

 

When Winifred and Becca came home with a cold and wet Paul in front of them, Bucky and Steve sat on the couch watching TV. Becca’s eyes looked at Bucky and let her gaze wander to Steve. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she noticed something. Bucky smiled his most innocent smile when she looked back at him. She pursed her lips and squinted her eyes even more. Eventually she shrugged and took her jacket and cap off.

Paul decided Steve was the best towel to dry off on and placed her butt in his unknowing lap. The Barnes laughed when Steve expressed his shock with a “Whoaaaahahahaha”. The dog smiled at him, breathing him right in the face and her tail hitting the table by his legs.

“She found the worst route in the world,” Becca complained. “Paul loves water and mud. If she spots a puddle there’s no way in hell you can stop her. Sorry, Steve” Steve shook his head to the apology. ”No, it’s okay! I’m just happy she likes me enough to share her mud with me!” Everyone laughed again. It made Paul even more excited, jumping up to lick Steve in his face. He turned his face to avoid the slobbery tongue directly in his face. Paul found his ears instead and Steve giggled as she washed them thoroughly.

Winifred interrupted the ear massage by pouring Paul a big bowl of dog food. The Aussie flew up and jumped down on the floor but not without accidentally kicking Steve in the crotch with her back paws. Steve winced and inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth. Bucky just laughed at him.

“Get used to that, babe. Happens all the time. Especially if you let her sleep in your bed at night.” He placed down his phone on the coffee table. “You have no idea how many times I’ve woken up by a kick in the nuts.” Steve snorted a laugh. “Great. No dogs in bed, then”

“To be honest, Steven, she’ll distract you too much.” Bucky leaned closer to the other man. “Night time is us time, not cuddle-a-dog time. You’ll have plenty of that during the day.” He let his eyes sweep over Steve’s face. Maybe it was his imagination but Bucky thought he saw Steve do the same. Bucky’s stomach made a weird jump. Why is he reacting this way?

“Eugh, guys, please!” Becca groaned loudly. The men smiled and leaned away from each other. Bucky kept his gaze on Steve’s lips though, just to play around a little bit more.

“Please don’t talk like that, it’s weird” The younger sibling had her arms crossed over her chest with a disgusted look on her face. Bucky looked over to her. “What? It’s normal, Rebecca” He shrugged and raised his eyebrows, trying to look as oblivious as possible.

 “Yeah, but I don’t want to hear my brother talk about it! Plus, you were the one who didn’t want to talk about it before!” Becca’s shoulder shot up and she pushed her head forward when she spoke. Bucky rolled his eyes and grinned.

“That’s because it’s under my conditions this time. We promise to be as quiet as possible during the nights, don’t worry”

“BUCKY!” She made another disgusted sound and walk out of the living room. Bucky looked pleased with himself. Steve smiled a lopsided smile as he watched Bucky.

“We’re doing great, Buck. This is going great” He couldn’t be more right. It had been a fun first evening in the Barnes mansion and both Bucky’s mother and sister seemed very convinced. Just twelve days to go.

“Thank you, babe” Bucky stood up and planted a big sloppy kiss on Steve’s cheek, making sure to make it louder than it had to be. He heard Becca murmur a “Dear God” from her room and made both Steve and Bucky chuckle. He walked away feeling a little lightheaded. That was totally from standing up too fast, not the fact that he had just kissed Steve on the cheek. He was tired, that’s all.

-

“Did you pack your toothbrush, Steve?” He searched his suitcase again. Bucky was sure he put the toothbrush in there. Apparently not, it seemed.

“Yes, why?” Steve popped up in the door opening to their bedroom. Their _shared_ bedroom. Because of course. Bucky didn’t think of it before but as soon as his mother interrupted his and Steve’s discussion over how “Bucky didn’t know the dot over the _I_ on the Skittles logo was a skittle” and Bucky telling him that “It’s not that weird, Steve! It looks like a goddamn dot!” he’d been kicked back to reality. Of course he and Steve would share bedroom. His mom thought they were dating; it would be weird for her _not to_ think they slept in the same bed.

He was about to talk to Steve and bring up his idea about how Bucky could sleep on the floor but he stopped himself. If both of them somehow slept through the morning and Bucky was sleeping on the floor, it would look a little suspicious to his mother if she came in to wake them up and telling them “It’s 1:30pm. Time to get out of bed and walk the dog”. So Bucky kept quiet. He and Steve were going to sleep in the same bed, there was no way out. _Easy peasy_.

“I left mine at home. I knew I would forget something,” Bucky pouted. Steve shot him a “sorry, man” without talking. A mouth full of toothpaste wasn’t the best thing to communicate with.

Bucky stood up on his feet and walk over to his mom’s room. He knocked on the door and when he got the “come in”, he opened it.

“Hi sweetie” Winifred was in bed with “ _The number one Ladies detective agency”._ She really loved her detective stories and she’d read that book a couple of times before.

“Do you have any spare tooth brushes? I forgot mine at home” He leaned against the doorframe.

“Yeah, sure. Bathroom, third box to the left.” The book was now in her lap, paying all the attention to her son. “Hey,” she said softly. “Yeah?” Bucky was on his way out of the room but turned around to listen.

“You seem happier.” Bucky exhaled. “Truly, Bucky, I mean it. I don’t understand why I was so unsure of it at first. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” Winifred sat up a little more in her bed, patting on the bed. Bucky blinked slowly and tilted his head. “No, mom, you don’t have to-“ “Yes, this is important. I want to make sure you listen to me.” Her son hesitated but walked over to the bed and sat down on the light blue duvet.

“You are loved in this family. What I did wasn’t right. I want you to feel trusted and believed and I ruptured that bubble. I’m sorry, sweetie.” She looked worried, a deep wrinkle visible on her forehead.

“Mom, it’s cool. I know Steve and me have been friends for a long time and maybe seemed to be _just friends_. I completely understand your doubts.” He played with the hem of his shirt. “I know you’ll support me through anything. You are truly the best family I’ve ever had.” Bucky did a _nudge, nudge_ gesture towards his mother. She chuckled.

“I love you so much. Both of you,” Bucky breathed. Winifred looked at him with a small smile on her lips. She seemed tired but her gaze was clear and awake. She put her hand out to stroke Bucky on his cheek.

“You should tell your sister that, too.” Bucky laughed. “I’ll try. If she’ll listen to me, that is.” “Yes, of course,” Winifred snickered.

Bucky nodded once and lingered a little. He got up eventually and headed to the door. He turned in the doorway to say goodnight.

“You’re all set? Did you find the sheets I put out for you?” Bucky nodded. “Good. Goodnight, Bucky.” “Goodnight, mom. See you tomorrow.”

-

After brushing their teeth and changing into more comfortable clothes to sleep in, Steve and Bucky sat on the bed together.

“This didn’t go so bad after all” Bucky mused. Steve shook his head and shrugged. “We’re too good at this” “Indeed we are” They smiled coyly at each other until Steve snorted and pushed Bucky’s face away. That made Bucky laugh too. He rolled over to his side of the wide bed and proceeded to tug on the cover. He sat on the cover. He’d have to get up, _stand up_ , if he wanted to get underneath it.

He groaned because standing up seemed _so. hard_ right now. Steve looked over and laughed. “You are so fucking lazy, Buck. You know it’s probably more challenging to try and lift the cover when you are sitting on it.” Bucky was still furiously trying to move the white duvet. _Goddamnit._ He got up, jerked the cover to the side and got under it.

“Better?” Steve had propped himself up on his elbows, watching his exhausted friend pick a fight with fucking _fabric_. “So much better.” Bucky pressed his face into the pillow. The other man sighed quietly and laid down as well.

“Goodnight, Steve.” “Goodnight, Bucky. Wake me up if something comes up, alright?” “I will. Goodnight.” “Nighty-night.”

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not used to domestic stuff couples do so this is a first for me lmao  
> -  
> and a special thanks to my friend nic who helped me with some ideas with the domestic shit they did thank you friend who will never see this ily  
> -
> 
> find me on tumblr @ dancinghannigram  
> go and support my mate dviciosamadridista on tumblr too !  
> -  
> ps she has a side blog with incorrect (mostly stucky) marvel quotes pls go and check that out too, it's fantastic @ therealmcu on tumblr ds


	3. You've got a pocket full

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Barnes become juicers and Steve's a great artist, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!  
> Thank you so much for the love on/to/with/under/at/besides/grammardhdfjsgsdfgfg the last chapter! You're all so sweet <33
> 
> All mistakes are done by me, written by me
> 
> Thank you Riri for browsing ideas with me (and reading through the thing), thank you Nic for supporting me through my screaming chat conversations, you're both lovely <33333
> 
> Please read the notes at the end for some !spoiler! explanations!!  
> ily ok cool see you

Bucky woke up uncomfortably warm with a bright light right in his eyes. His brows knitted together and he let out a quiet groan. He forgot to draw the blinds the night before. Of course he did. Now the sun was waking him up at an ungodly hour and if Bucky knew himself right, he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep again.

Blinking, he opened his eyes to look at the clock. Six fifteen. Great. Bucky carefully turned on his back, trying his best not to wake up the sleeping man beside him. He stayed like that for a while. Damn sun.

When at least ten minutes had passed, Bucky stretched as he watched Steve. He paused his delicate movements when the blond man stirred and mumbled something incoherent. Nothing. Bucky let out a breath and relaxed. He sat up as slow as he could get his muscles to cooperate, always keeping an eye on the Steve beside him.

When Bucky’s toes finally touched the floor, he removed the cover from his thigs. Moving slowly again, he stood up, glanced one last time at Steve and walked to the door. He opened it and oh, no. Bucky stopped. The door seemed to be tired, too.

 _Great_. Bucky thought. _A screeching door is just what I need right now_. He gritted his teeth and yanked the door open. _Like a band-aid._

-

Becca was up and sat with her left foot on the chair, her hair brushing her knee. She looked up from the book she was reading and smiled when she saw Bucky.

“Hi brother! You’re up early.” She checked the time and her eyes widened. “Very early! What are you doing up now? Do you know what time it is?” Bucky shrugged. “Yeah. Didn’t close the blinds yesterday, sun woke me up.”

Becca gave him an apologetic look even though she couldn’t do anything, really. Bucky just shook his head and sat down opposite from his sister.

“So what are your plans today?” Bucky asked. Becca pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, recalling what their mother asked of her yesterday. “I think I’m going to help mom to make apple juice. At least, that’s what she wanted to do today. I’m not sure though. Depends on the weather.” Bucky hummed and nodded.

“Should I and Steve help? We’ve got nothing to do, so…” “Yes! More people means apples get picked quicker means more time to do other stuff.” Bucky looked at her. “I mean, the more, the merrier!” She cleared her throat theatrically. He rolled his eyes and Becca gave him a wide smile.

“I’ll ask Steve. But I need to wake up a little first,” Bucky sighed. He stood up and walked in to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Breakfast was probably the best meal of the day, according to Bucky. He didn’t like the morning life but he never missed out on breakfast. Sadly all his family had in their kitchen was yoghurt, white bread, granola, coffee and some eggs. _Not the best options, perhaps,_ he thought but he grabbed the bread and popped two slices into the toaster.

When in doubt, toasted bread and butter.

Is that how the saying goes?

**-**

After breakfast, Becca put the collar on Paul and opened the front door. Paul stormed out, eager to run around after a night of sleeping inside the house. Becca was about to walk through the door too when she remembered something. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, searched the hall with her gaze and eventually found what she was looking for. She grabbed the green ball from the woven bamboo shelf across the room. She tossed it from her left to her right hand a few times.

“Bucky, you wanna go for a walk with Paul?” A loud clank followed by a “Shit!” came from the kitchen. Becca raised an eyebrow.

“Say again?” Becca cleared her throat. “Do you wanna go for a walk with me and Paul?” Pause. Then footsteps. Bucky dried his hands on his shirt as he walked into the hall. He nodded once and began searching for his shoes.

“Yes, sure. You brought the ball?” “Yes, I did.” Becca pressed the ball against Bucky’s back when he bent down to ties his shoes. He flinched and glared up at her. Becca just grinned.

“What happened in there, by the way?” Bucky’s sister waved her hand in the direction of the kitchen. Bucky flushed a little, but shrugged. “Nothing, I dropped a drinking glass in the sink. Didn’t wanna make loud noises when half of the house is asleep but I guess that’s just my luck.” Becca stifled a laughter. Bucky nodded. “Yeah. Rest in pieces, glass”

He stood up again, straightening his shirt. “You done?” Another nod from Bucky. “Let’s go!”

-

Paul came back with the ball for (probably) the hundredth time. Bucky’s right arm didn’t work anymore. He’d thrown the ball and thrown the ball and thrown the ball until he couldn’t do it one more time. That’s what two arms are for. He was now throwing the ball with his left arm. Not as strong or exact with its technique but it was still impressive how far the ball could go. Paul was just happy she got to run around the way she did. Almost running fast enough her legs couldn’t keep up.

Besides how they were laughing and talking about Becca’s new school, the Barnes siblings didn’t say much. It was an incredibly comfortable silence between them. They knew they didn’t have to talk to each other and Becca knew not to ask questions if it wasn’t necessary. Alongside a tired but a _very_ happy dog, they walked home, just taking in the forest and stillness of the nature around them. Walking slowly, the clock was about eight thirty when Becca opened the front door.

“Good morning, sweeties!” Winifred’s voice sang from the living room. Bucky toed his shoes off and walked into the other room. “Good morning, ma” He smiled softly.

“Did you have fun walking the dog?” The mother was currently cleaning the TV bench, drying it off with a wet cloth. She’d eaten breakfast too, Bucky noticed. He saw an empty bowl, presuming it was the bowl which was once filled with yoghurt and granola.

Bucky nodded and rolled his shoulders. “Yeah. Paul likes running. I like throwing balls. She likes running a little too much, I can’t throw ball repeatedly like that. I’m gonna have a killer muscle ache tomorrow, probably.” He remembered the task for today, stilled and groaned. “Oh my God, I have apples to pick, too…”

“Oh! You want to help me pick the apples today? Did you already talk to Becca about it?” Winifred was now cleaning up on the kitchen table, balancing her breakfast bowl and coffee mug on her arm.

“Yeah, that was the plan. If it’s okay, of course.” Bucky placed his left hand on one of the chair’s backrest and leaned his body against it. He heard his mother chuckle from the kitchen. “Of course! The more people, the better!” She met Bucky’s eyes and he coughed a laugh. “You sound like my sister.” Winifred shook her head playfully, a smile playing on her lips. “No, she sounds like me. I was born before her, you know.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah…”

They stood still for a moment before Winifred’s eyes flicked back and forth between Bucky and something behind him. He gave her a confused look and turned his head slightly, preparing to turn around and get a look at what his mother was looking at. Suddenly he felt two hands on his hips and he jumped a little. A small laugh escaped from the person behind him.

Bucky whipped around and almost knocked noses with Steve. Steve smiled when he saw Bucky’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Hi,” Steve croaked. “Hello.” Bucky was still frozen in place. Act natural, dammit. He let himself relax a little and put his own arms around Steve’s waist. They both had to crane their necks backwards to look at each other. Steve’s smile still played on his lips, his eyes tired but scanning Bucky’s face with intense clarity.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Bucky knew the answer but felt it was necessary to ask anyway. “No, I just woke up. Have you?” Bucky nodded carefully. “Yeah. Sun woke me up at six. Wasn’t my happiest moment exactly.” They spoke quietly to each other and Bucky felt a jolt of intimacy through his body. Of course, that wasn’t because they were standing as close as two people can physically get, certainly not. But if they had been talking with their normal voices, this wouldn’t feel as intimate.

Right?

Steve hummed. Winifred broke Steve’s and Bucky’s little moment. “Steve, we’re going to work in the garden today-” Steve looked away and over Bucky’s left shoulder to listen to the woman talking to him.

“-and I was wondering if you would want to help out? We’re making apple juice later today and need lots of apples.” The blond man pulled away slightly just to get a better eye contact with Winifred. Bucky stood still with his back turned to his mother, just watching the other man in front of him.

“Yeah, sure! It’s nice to get to work. I would love to, Winifred.” Steve nodded as he spoke. Bucky’s eyes caught a strand of hair on Steve’s forehead. He followed the movement as it bopped up and down when Steve nodded. He wanted to put it into place and comb his hand through the strands like he’d done the day before.

“Bucky?” Bucky snapped his eyes to Steve’s. Steve raised his eyebrows and cocked his head forward. “Are you doing it as well?” The brunet caught up. “Yeah, yes, uh… Yes, I’m going to help, too.” The other man gave him a bright smile. “Great! A whole day getting dirty and sweaty, that’s a right kind of day.”

Bucky choked out a laugh in the same moment as Becca walk into the room to just turn on her heels and walk away.

His mother clicked her tongue and Bucky knew she was shaking her head. He also knew she was smiling, even though he didn’t see her.

“This is going to be a great day, indeed,” Bucky murmured, pressing a little closer to Steve.

* * *

Steve was right. Picking apples is a lot sweatier than you might think. Especially if you have to use the ladder. You can’t just put the ladder in one place and pick everything from there. No, you have to put the ladder on a relatively flat spot on the grass, otherwise you’ll fall and die, probably. When you’ve picked all the apples that you can reach from that spot, you have to climb down and find another spot to place the ladder. It’s hard work and when you’re a little afraid of heights as Bucky is, you sweat about four times more than the average human.

It was fun nevertheless and apples were picked. At one point Steve get an apple in his face, which was followed by Bucky many and frenetic apologies. Becca laughed until she couldn’t stand on two feet and Winifred just shook her head.

-

After cleaning up a bit, the Barnes and Steve began to sort out the bad apples from the five buckets of harvest. Most of the apples were fine, not a lot went to waste.

Winifred had begun cutting and coring the ones that were ready to be cooked. She worked skillfully and with ease, getting through the piles of fruit quickly. Steve watched her and slowly started cutting apples himself. Bucky and Becca plowed through the rest of the harvest, making sure just the good apples were selected and prepared a big pot of water.

“Not too much water, Bucky! Just enough to cover them. It’ll be a very diluted juice otherwise.” Bucky accidentally splashed water over himself when he pulled back as he was pouring. Steve laughed at the disgruntled expression on Bucky’s face. Becca handed him some paper towels and that was it.

-

“There. Now we’ll have to wait about twenty five minutes for them to soften.” Winifred gestured over to the pot on the stove.

“Twenty five minutes? But we have like, four more piles of apples to go through!” Bucky’s eyes widened a bit.

“It takes time, sweetheart. We’ll come up with something to do while they’re cooking.”

“Like what?” Bucky looked around the dining room and shrugged slightly. Becca’s happy face caught his eye. “What,” he said, voice monotone and with slight hesitation.

Becca pressed herself through between Steve and her brother and jogged into her room. Bucky looked at Steve with fear in his eyes. “I have no idea what she’s up to.”

Right then, Becca came back with, what it looked like, a bunch of magazines. She smiled as big as the sun is bright and plonked the pile of paper down on the table.

“Let’s do something fun!”

-

“Okay so, let me show you. You find a picture of a person-“ Becca browsed one of the magazines by holding it in her right hand, putting her thumb on the bottom corner of the paper and letting the pages go, one at a time. “-and cut it out.” A few beats later, she spotted a picture of a blonde woman looking into the camera with a big basket of oranges. She plopped it down on the table and began carefully ripping it out. Then she chose a black marker and held it in front of her as she continued her instructions.

“Now, draw something on the top half of the picture. Preferably on the actual face of the person.” Becca began drawing on the page, covering her masterpiece with her left hand so that nobody else could get a sneak peak of it.

“There. Now you fold it, and pass it on to the other person beside you.” She folded the page just enough to keep the part where she’d drawn on hidden. She then passed the paper to Bucky. “Draw something. Don’t let us see, though.”

Bucky looked at the folded picture. The woman’s nose and kind smile was the only part exposed. He grabbed the soon-to-be canvas for his black marker skills and placed it down on the table. Becca handed over the marker and Bucky began to draw. The pen made an awful “scrtch-scrtch” sound but it was over before anyone could complain about it.

Bucky quickly folded the paper and handed it over to Steve and Steve did the same thing as Becca and Bucky had done. He laughed to himself a little bit. His brown haired friend rolled his eyes.

Last out was Winifred. She looked at the younger people in front of her and something twitched on her lips. A smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She quickly scribbled down something and turned the page over.

“It’s time to unfold it! Look!” Becca leaned forward on the table and grabbed the finished piece. “Look at her! Isn’t she wonderful?” Like a proud parent, Becca held up the picture of the blonde woman with the big basket of oranges. She now had a drawn on straw hat, an impressive amount of eyebrow piercings, a few freckles over her cheeks and the oranges had turned into small monsters, crawling out of the basket with tiny claws and horns. Steve’d also given her a missing tooth and a great tattoo on her neck.

That poor woman.

-

The kitchen table was full of folded up and wrinkled paper. Everything from a Xenomorph with a top hat to a man with a long beard, an eye patch and a crop top. Steve had shown skills in the drawing department and Bucky was honestly very impressed. They’ve lived together all these years and Steve is now deciding to show his hidden talent?

Winifred, Becca and Steve jumped a little when the timer for the apples went off. Bucky didn’t stir at all. He’d watched too many horror movies to get scared by a fricking timer.

The mother got up from her chair and stretched. She then shuffled into the kitchen and poked around in the apple and water concoction. Nodding, she put the lid back on.

“They’re ready. Let’s make apple juice!”

-

Turns out it takes a lot longer to make juice than expected. The juice dripped painfully slow through the mesh strainer and it took about thirty minutes of scooping and pushing the apples through the cloth. It then had to cool down for the family to finally get to taste it. The wait was worth it though. It was good juice.

It was _very_ good juice.

-

Steve, Bucky and Becca left Winifred to finish the rest of the chopped fruit. Not that she was complaining. She actually looked quite content to be left alone.

* * *

Becca went straight to her room when they were free from the kitchen. That left Steve and Bucky alone together. Bucky exhaled a long breath and rolled his shoulders.

“I’m going to be dead tomorrow, my shoulders are killing me.” Steve chuckled. “Yeah, right back at you. We’re two old men.” “Damn right, we are.” The blond man looked at Bucky and laughed softly again. Bucky sat down beside Steve on their bed.

“Are you okay?” Bucky nudged Steve slightly with his elbow. “Yeah, I’m great. This is very nice. Although, I’m not sure how couple-y we are. I mean, we haven’t kissed or anything in front of them.” Steve’s eyebrows went up and he bit his bottom lip nervously. He was worried Bucky’s family would catch them lying about the relationship. For Steve, a romantic relationship had always meant intimate and personal. Bucky liked intimacy too, that he knew, but there was something different with how Bucky acted around a love interest compared to Steve.

“We did the thing in the kitchen, though, remember? That was pretty affectionate if you ask me.” Steve recalled today’s morning. Bucky had been a little taken back by Steve’s presence but he quickly caught on. They had been standing so close, Steve had felt Bucky’s warm breath against his mouth while they were talking. He wondered if Bucky thought about that too. Frankly, Steve couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like, at all.

“Yeah but I mean… Should we do more? Should we kiss? Like- like how we talked about? In the car?” Steve spoke quietly, making sure nobody could hear him except his friend in the room.

Bucky opened his mouth to say something but closed it. Then he opened it again, inhaled and held his breath for a couple of beats. He sighed loudly and knotted his brow.

“We’ll do it when it feels right, no need to rush. My family doesn’t really care about that kind of stuff, anyway.” Steve nodded. Alright. When it feels right.

When is that, then?

Steve sat back on the bed. When’s that?

* * *

A knock on the door made Bucky jerk out from his half sleep. He looked at the blonde man beside him who was reading a book about… Shampoo? Why was he reading a book about shampoo?

“Dinner’s ready.” Bucky turned to look at his mother instead of his strange friend. She smiled and nodded a little. She then walked back to the dining room.

Bucky rolled over and got up from the bed. Steve put down his, uh, book about shampoo, and followed Bucky through the rooms.

Becca was already sitting down at the table with her chin resting in her hands. She gave the two men a small smile when she saw them.

Bucky sniffed the aroma traveling through the air. Thyme. And garlic. His stomach growled. Amused eyes from Steve met his. Bucky grinned and shrugged. “All the cooking today had made me very hungry. Guess I didn’t notice that until now.”

Winifred placed down a frying pan on the table, together with a plate of flatbread and a set of seven small bowls with sauces and dressings.

“Hold on, I’ll go get the vegetables.” She went back into the kitchen and came back some time later with lettuce, spring onion, tomatoes and black olives.

“Mom, it smells great! What is it?” Bucky eyed the content in the frying pan. It looked like meat. No sauce, no special seasoning. Just plain meat.

“It’s a vegetarian dish. That right there is seitan. It’s wheat, basically.” “Wheat?” Bucky frowned.

“Yes. Seitan is just the gluten from wheat. It’s kneaded into a dough and from there you can cook it and marinate it however you want. It’s great if you don’t want to eat soy all the time.” The other three people in the room said “Ah” in unison, making them laugh.

“And what did you season this _satan_ with,” asked Bucky when the laughter had died down. “ _Seitan_ ,” Becca answered. “What?” Bucky raised his eyebrows. “ _Seitan_. You said _Satan_. That’s something else, Bucky.” She laughed as she pointed it out.

Winifred chuckled. “It’s just thyme and garlic. The rest is up to you how you want it to taste.” She referred to all of the sauces on the table. “And you put it all in a bread. Or you can dip it, if you want. It’s all up to you.”

Becca had already begun shoveling everything on a piece of flatbread and was currently trying to get the olive off the olive pit. She was battling for her life, it seemed.

“Why didn’t you buy pitted olives, mom. Now I gotta do this for the rest of my life.” She let her fork go, defeated.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, hon. I realized it but it was too late. Next time.” Winifred blinked at Becca. Becca nodded and tried again.

-

Steve loved these kinds of foods. To personalize and to make sure it’s to your liking. Cooking food is hard if you’re cooking for a big group of people and by doing this you can make everybody happy. It is also hysterical to watch other people eat the messiest food in the world. He mentally thanked Winifred for that one.

-

After dinner when everything was cleaned up, Becca sat up in her chair.

“Do y’all wanna watch a movie?”

-

Sitting (laying) pressed together; Bucky and Steve had the couch for themselves. Steve’s rhythmic breathing made Bucky sleepy but he managed to keep his eyes open the whole movie. Ben Affleck’s shower scene made him sit up a little and Bucky wouldn’t miss a chance to watch Henry Cavill’s face for almost three hours straight.

Yes, Bucky cried, but just a little. Steve had his arms around him the whole time and Bucky felt him squeeze a little tighter when Bucky sniffled.

Becca sat on one of the armchairs beside them. She watched the movie but once every few minutes she looked over and smiled, just the corner of the mouth curling upwards. Bucky and Steve didn’t notice.

Winifred didn’t watch the film. She went to bed almost immediately after the kitchen was clean. She deserved an early night. The three awake promised her they would take care of Paul before they also went to bed.

-

“I don’t know, Steve. I think DC is kinda lame, to be completely honest.” Paul pulled on the leash making Bucky frown and grip a little tighter around it.

“What, why? How can they be lame? They have Superman for Christ’s sake!” Steve raised his voice. It echoed between the trees. The dark didn’t come to play around here. Paul wore one of those collars with LEDs on it, making her easy to find in the pitch-black night.

“He wears his briefs over his pants, bro. That’s not cool at all.” Silence. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But he’s very strong. Imagine what he could do if he was here.”

Bucky snorted and turned around. Steve was catching up behind him and shrugged. He broke out a lop-sided smile and stopped right beside Bucky. Bucky shoved himself gently into Steve’s side.

“You’re strong too. And you’re here. Imagine what you could do,” Bucky purred.

“Please, for the love of God, stop.” Becca made a displeased sound and snatched Paul’s leash from Bucky’s hand. He laughed and gripped Steve’s hand. Steve seemed to get the invitation and intertwined fingers with the other man.

They walked like that for the rest of the time outside.

-

When they came home the clock had almost hit eleven thirty. Bucky being the way he is, had his arms around himself. He was cold. Very cold.

“Bucky, come on, let’s go to bed. You’re freezing!” Steve gave him a blanket for now and pointed at the bathroom.

“Can you brush your teeth?” The brunet gave Steve a weird look. Of course, he’s not a fucking child. “Yeah.” “Cool. Go ‘n do that.”

Bucky tried to stay steady as the toothbrush went across his teeth. It didn’t go as bad as he thought, just a little more toothpaste around his mouth. He quickly washed it off and walked to the bedroom. Steve was currently stretching out another blanket over the covers. Bucky sighed and smiled.

“Aren’t you going to sweat like crazy if you sleep with that on the bed?” He watched as Steve bent forward to fix the corner of the red, warm fabric. “Yes, probably. But it’ll keep you warm at least.” Steve stood up straight again and walk towards his friend.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to take my pants off. My hands are kinda numb.” Bucky looked down sheepishly, turning his hands to look at them. He gently bent them and looked back at Steve again. “Could you… Help me, maybe?”

Steve looked as he was thinking of something to say but he just nodded and steered Bucky to the edge of Bucky’s side of the bed. Bucky sat down but Steve asked him to stand up again with an “up” gesture with his hand. Bucky obeyed and stood up again.

“I’m sorry-“ Bucky laughed nervously. Steve just shook his head.

“No, no, I get it. You have no idea how many times I’ve had to sleep in my jeans because I couldn’t open the button in the front. I know how irritating cold fingers can be. It’s okay.”

The blond man gripped Bucky pants by the belt loops and pulled down carefully. The movement made Bucky’s knees buckle a little but he quickly straightened up again.

This time, Steve used a little more force to get Bucky to sit down so he could pull the pants off, one leg at a time. He grabbed the cuffs of the jeans and pulled them off smoothly.

“There. Do you want to change your shirt, too?” Bucky nodded. He wouldn’t want to sleep in a shirt he’d been sweating in for the whole day. Hell, he probably needed a shower right now. Whatever. He could do that tomorrow.

Steve asked Bucky to stand up again. He then looked at the blanket wrapped around Bucky’s shoulder and Bucky’s gaze went from Steve to the blanket, to Steve again. Bucky let go of the blanket.

The air wasn’t cold but it certainly wasn’t warmer than under the fleece. Steve pointed at Bucky’s arms and gestured him to lift them up. One swift motion and the shirt was gone.

Bucky was very cold.

 “You can crawl back under the blanket again. I gotta find you another shirt.” Steve searched the closet inside their room. He grabbed a big, gray short-sleeved shirt. He also found Bucky’s pajama pants on the floor.

“Here.” “Thank you, Steve.” “Yeah.”

-

With the new set of sleeping gear and two warm pieces of fabric wrapped around him, Bucky slowly went to sleep. What did he deserve to have such a good friend as Steve? He really didn’t deserve Steve. Steve’s too good for this world.

 “Goodnight, Buck. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Steve’s amazing.

Ok, falling asleep now.

“Goodnight, Steve.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!
> 
> It's now canon that this story takes place in the middle of August. Apples ripen throughout August-October so 
> 
> Find me on tumblr: Dancinghannigram  
> Find Riri on tumblr: Dviciosamadridista
> 
> Thank you for all your patience, it means a lot to me! I have the fourth chapter planned out so hopefully that'll be up in a while. Let's just hope I actually can get it out withing two months :D
> 
> peace


	4. Before the world catches up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BEACH

“Bucky! We’re going to the beach!” Bucky woke up with a loud snort. He blinked a few times to get rid of the thin sheet of sleep over his eyes. He couldn’t see shit.

When just blinking didn’t work he decided to rub his eyes with the back of his hands. A few more blinks later, his eyes were ready to cooperate. Bucky looked over to Steve’s side of the bed and saw a mirror image of himself. Steve’s hair stuck up in various places and he kept his eyes half open, not ready to face the day yet. He didn’t say much as he was far too groggy for that.

Bucky looked back at Becca who was beaming in the doorway. It was then he caught up on the smell from the kitchen. Breakfast. Becca laughed and Steve seemed to wake up when Bucky’s stomach let out a loud growl.

“Come on, mom says we have to be ready in like one and a half hour.” Becca was already walking out of the room when she informed the two sleepy men.

Steve sighed and smiled. “Well, you heard her. Let’s get up.” Early riser Steve who slept until eleven AM. Steve got up at six at home. Bucky turned his body towards his friend. Steve met Bucky’s eyes, still a small smile on his lips. They blinked at each other before Steve broke the contact.

“The beach doesn’t sound that bad, actually.” He stretched, arms up in the air, arching his back.  
Bucky thought about it. Steve was right, the beach didn’t sound bad at all.

-

Paul ran out through the door before the family had packed up and gotten ready. Becca wore a loose shirt over her bathing suit and wore a pair of big, obnoxious, green sunglasses. “Jesus Christ,” Bucky teased, nodding towards her. She pouted her lips and put her hand on her waist. “I like them,” she said as Bucky laughed, throwing his head back. Steve chuckled too. Winifred just shook her head, rolling her eyes.

“Come on, lovies, let’s pack this into the car.”

 

* * *

 

Bucky rested on his elbows, stretched out with his legs crossed. The sun was beaming down on the people on the beach and Becca was currently trying to get her mother to help slather some sunscreen on the exposed skin on her back. Winifred was currently falling asleep.

“Ugh. Bucky can you do it, then?” Becca sat cross-legged directly on the sand, holding out the sunscreen bottle towards Bucky. He pushed himself up and nodded.

-

“Come on Steve! We’re here because water, not because books.” Bucky held out a hand to Steve who was sitting down on his towel with a book in his hands. Steve looked at the man standing in front of him through his sunglasses. Steve wasn’t planning on swimming today.

“I’m good. You go and have fun, Buck.” The brunet couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. Steve Rogers, the man who loved to swim, didn’t want to swim? And today, out of all other days? It was hot as shit out and Steve didn’t want to go in the water? Hell no.

Bucky yanked the book from the unsuspecting man and climbed on top of him, thighs on either side of Steve’s chest. “Hey!” Steve gave Bucky a surprised glare but his expression changed abruptly because that was _not_ a finger in his ribs. Bucky pressed his knuckles against Steve’s bare chest, making the other man squirm under him.

“Bucky! Stop!” Steve let out a squeal of laughter as he tried to push the other man away from his sides. “No! Not until you dip your feet in the water!” “Alright, _alright_! I’ll do it!” Bucky stopped and grinned at the other man. “That’s more like it.” Steve let out a breathy laugh and pushed his friend off him.

Bucky held out a hand again and pulled Steve up on his feet. The blond man casually brushed off some of the sand stuck to his swimming trunks. He let Bucky take his hand again as he was led into the water. Steve was pleasantly surprised by the temperature of the water.  

“There. My toes are in. Can I go back to my book now?” Bucky gave him a blank stare. He then quickly moved behind Steve and pressed his fingers _once again_ against Steve’s poor ribs. Steve spun around and tried to grab Bucky’s hands. He managed to flail his hands around a bit but other than that, he was toast. Bucky held the Golden Badge of Tickling™ and he was not letting Steve get his way, not today. Steve let out another breathy yelp.

“Please! Alright, I give up!” Bucky stopped. “Look, I’m walking further into the water! Are you happy now?” Steve pressed his lips together to hide the smile that was threatening to crack up on his face. He looked at Bucky as he walked backwards through the small waves.

“Much better. That wasn’t too bad, was it?” Bucky flashed his teeth in a big grin. Steve locked eyes with him. He tried to give Bucky a look of disapproval but there was still a tug on the corners of his mouth. Something in his eyes was mischievous, though.

“Come here.” Steve jerked his chin upwards, an invitation for Bucky to move closer to the man. Bucky obeyed and waddled forward as best as he could. Once he was close to Steve, he stopped and looked at his friend. In a matter of seconds, Steve managed to lunge himself forward and was now carrying Bucky bridal style over the waves.

Bucky just sat there waiting for his destiny, putting his whole weight in the blond man’s arms. Because when Steve did something like this, it was never _just this_. So Bucky watched Steve and saw Steve’s face change. Then Steve turned his torso, braced himself and sent Bucky flying through the air. Steve laughed. Bucky did not.

The once half-dry brunet was now a _wet_ brunet. He stood up and ran as fast as he could to make contact with the _not-wet-yet_ Steve. The men collided and fell into the water. Bucky gasped for air and Steve did the same. A burst of laugher escaped them both and people around them began to watch them curiously. Steve got up, glanced around and locked eyes with Bucky yet again.

Bucky grabbed onto Steve’s wrist and pulled himself up. Steve was a solid weight and didn’t seem to budge when Bucky forced himself out of the water. With a hand on Bucky’s lower back, Steve leaned in slightly. Bucky stood frozen in place. Something shone differently in Steve’s eyes. Something hesitant. What…?

“I’m going to kiss you now, is that okay?” Steve spoke quietly, mouth tight and barely moving his lips, trying to eliminate any suspicion. Bucky blinked.

Holy shit.

He couldn’t force out a single word, so he nodded. Yes.

_Holy shit._

Steve looked as nervous as Bucky felt when he leaned in.

It was a quick, warm press of lips against lips. Steve’s hands had somehow found their way to Bucky’s jaw. Bucky couldn’t recall when it happened but probably during his embarrassing frozen moment. Didn’t matter now though, he thought. Steve caressed Bucky’s cheeks with his thumbs and Bucky had found Steve’s elbows and hooked his fingers behind them. For a second they just stood there, feeling.

That was until a bright colored ball came flying through the air. Bucky watched as Steve snapped out of the moment and looked around. The love-hating person who threw the ball laughed nervously, shrugged slightly and tried their best to apologize for the moment-ruining throw.

A big cough of laughter made Steve look back at Bucky. The brunet almost fell backwards, eyes crinkled and his hands over his stomach. Steve felt his own laughter bubbling up in his throat and put his arms around Bucky to keep him from falling.

-

Becca sat by herself on Steve’s neglected towel, smiling softly as she’d seen the whole show play out in front of her.

-

Steve and Bucky were sitting in the backseat of the car with Paul between them. She smelled like wet dog. She was a wet dog. Steve did not approve. But Paul couldn’t keep herself from crawling up in his lap every so often. Steve kept looking forward with an unamused look on his face but once Paul began to huff warm air in his face, his face broke up a little. He looked over to Bucky and met two bright eyes staring back at him. Steve grinned and ducked his head slightly, cocking it to the right.

Bucky chuckled sheepishly but kept the eye contact for a few more seconds. He then slowly reached out his hand against the free back seat between them, waiting for Steve. The blond man acknowledged the gesture and mirrored his friend.

Warm fingers tangled up and stayed like that for the entire car ride home. Neither of them said a word, taking turns squeezing the other’s hand softly.

Becca sat in the passenger seat, smiling yet again.

 

* * *

 

Coming home, Steve and Bucky slumped down in the couch, exhausted from the trip, even though they’d only been there for a few hours. 

Bucky still felt it, a feeling in his lower abdomen. A tingle, a spark, something that had been there ever since Bucky knocked Steve over in the water. Maybe even butterflies. What in the heck.  
His mouth curved upwards into a tiny smile as his hand automatically moved to his stomach. He placed it right under his navel as if he could feel the tickle on the palm of his hand.  His thoughts were interrupted.

“What are you smiling about?” Becca smirked as she leaned in the doorway. She’d crossed her arms loosely over her chest, hands clasped around her triceps.

Bucky scoffed, playing irritated. “Nothing.” Becca raised her eyebrow and squinted her eyes, trying to look through her brother’s bullshit. She didn’t say anything, just raised her eyebrows slightly, _go on_. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you have other things to do instead of staring at me almost dozing off?” Bucky sat up a little resulting in the couch complaining with a quiet creak. He glanced over at Steve. That man could literally sleep anywhere. How the hell did he do it? Bucky had no fricking idea.

“Yeah, I was gonna fetch some fruit from the kitchen. Mom’s making fruit salad,” Becca said. “And I just happened to walk in on you having some kind of flashback.” With that, she pushed herself off from the doorframe and kept walking through the living room. She still followed Bucky with her gaze, nodding slightly when she explained herself. Bucky clicked his tongue and shrugged with his face.

“Alright, cool. Still weird.” He heard Becca laugh as she opened the fridge. “You’re weird.” “Oh wow, what a clap back, just like middle school all over again.” Bucky grinned when Becca walked out again. She had put her best unamused face on, narrowed eyes and pursed lips. She held a big, blue bowl of fruit in her arms, walking carefully to not drop anything.  
“Come and help me and mom in the garden, James,” she said, raising her voice to compensate the distance between them. Bucky stifled a laughter but got up from the sofa. He looked back on Steve, snoring softly against the leather. The warm feeling in his gut came back.

-

“Hey.” Nothing. “Hey, buddy? Steve?” Bucky’s hand rested on Steve’s shoulder. He bit back a smile when Steve stirred, waking up.

“Nnnnn…” Bucky’s eyebrows went up. “What was that?” He laughed, couldn’t help himself. “Nnno…” Steve pressed his face into his palms, hiding it from the world. His brown-haired friend pressed his hand tighter around Steve’s shoulder, shaking him carefully. “We’re eating fruit salad. Do you want any?” Steve opened his eyes. Blinking, he met two blue ones looking back, warm and kind. “Hell yeah.”

-

After eating the apples left from the apple harvest, plus a few oranges, grapes and bananas, the family sat in silence in the soft breeze. Paul rested in the shade under the outdoor table, sighing occasionally and Steve rested with his eyes closed. Bucky sat with his hands in his lap, braiding his fingers together, looking at them, lost in thought. Becca rested her head in her hand with a bowl still in her lap. Winifred smiled softly; her eyes too, were closed. This had to be the best summer they’d had in ages. Perfect temperature, rain when Mother Earth needed it, just perfect.

-

“This is incredible, Winifred!” Steve put his fork down and let out a huff of air through his nose, displaying more of his neck as he tilted his head back slightly. Winifred smiled around her forkful of shrimp and zucchini.  
“Sadly it’s not my recipe.” Steve looked at her, eyebrows raised.

“It’s our friend Maria’s old recipe. She’s the experimenting kind, you know. Loves to try out new stuff all the time” The mother smiled still, recalling something as she spoke. “Now _she’s_ incredible. You should meet her, sometime,” she continued. The corners of Steve’s mouth quirked up and he nodded. “Yes, I really have to, don’t I?”

-

Steve was already half asleep when Bucky crawled under the covers. Bucky curled into a tight ball, desperate for his cold feet to get warmer. He closed his eyes and right then and there he realized how incredibly tired he was. As he felt his limbs getting heavier, the memory of today’s adventure crept back up in his mind. There they were again, the butterflies, nervous, excited. The corners of his mouth quirked up slightly. Bucky heard Steve stir a little.  
“Goodnight, Buck,” Steve murmured. Bucky hummed softly in response. Steve had inched closer to Bucky and was now trying to tangle himself around his friend. Bucky didn’t pull back, quite the opposite. The warmth between them was exactly what he needed.

They both fell asleep to the sound of the heavy, yet comforting silence around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my lovies <33  
> It's been a long time no see. School has sadly eaten me whole lmao ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I will finish this story, just not as soon as I thought I'd do. Thank you for all the kind comments and the kudos, it keeps me going with this whole thing!!! ily !!!
> 
> Thank you Riri <3
> 
> My tumblr: dancinghannigram.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> I'll update when I've got the time! I'm on summer vacation right now so I've got plenty of time wooh
> 
> You can find me at Dancinghannigram on tumblr


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